Carpet sweeper



July 7, 1931. SMITH 1,813,325

CARPET SWEEPER Filed Feb. 25, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR f/LQLE E.SM/TH ATTORN EY y 93 E. R. SMITH 1,813,325

CARPET SWEEPER Filed Feb. 23, 1927 a Sheets-Sheet z Wiguunuunuu 'N OR 252/. 22 I Emu R. SMITH ATTORNEY July 7, 1931. I R SMITH 1,813,325

CARPET SWEEPER Filed Feb. 25, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 5421.5 2.SMITH ATTORNEY Patented July 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE m B.SMITH, I408 ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASBIGNOR TO GILLETTE SWEEPERCORPORATION LTD, A CORPORATION OF NEVADA cmn'r swnnrnn My inventionrelates to carpet sweepers, and it has for a purpose the provision of asweeper in which brush-cleaning combs are mounted so as to normallyvitate to brushcleaning positions and toi s freely movable to positionsin which they do not function for brush cleaning but instead are adapted,to be cleaned by the brush when the latter is rotated.

It is also a purpose of my invention to provide a carpet sweeper whereinthe mounting for the brush-cleaning combs functions .to protect thebrush against the deposit of dust and other matter thereon, therebyconfining the dust so that it is ultimately deposited into pans providedfor collecting all matter entering the sweeper body.

A further purpose of my invention is the P provision of a carpet sweeperin which means is provided for definitely adjusting the rotary brushvertically so' as to render the sweeper efiicient in the sweeping ofrugs and carpets of various thicknesses, the sweeper body beingresiliently mounted on its wheels 2 in order to allow a downwardmovement of the rotary brush when a downward presure is manually exertedon the sweeper body through the medium of' the conventional handle andthereby making it possible to bring the brush into an intimate contactwith the surface that is swept and to effect. a thorough cleaning actionwhen required. I will describe only one form of carpet sweeper embodyingmy invention and will then point 5 out the 'novel features thereof inthe claims. In the accompanying drawings,- Figure 1 is a view showing inside elev-ationone form of carpet sweeper embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a central, vertical sectional view of the sweeper shown inFigure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the sweeper shown-in the precedingviews; 5 Figure 4 is a perspective view of the hood Figure 8 is anenlarged detail sectional view view showing the mounting of one of thecombs on the hood.

In the drawings, my invention, in its present embodiment, is shown ascomprising, a body B, preferably, although not necessarlly,

formed of metal, so as to provide a top wall 15, side walls 16 havingconcave portions 16a, and end walls 17, the ends of the side wallsrojecting beyond the end walls, as clearly illustrated in Figure 3. Asis best illustrated in Figure. 3, the end walls 17 are provided atcorresponding points with openings 18 through which extend the oppositeen s of a rotary brush 19 provided with relatively small wheels 20carrying stub shafts 21 journaled in levers 22. The'brush 19 isconventional in construction and, as shown in F igure 2, it has itslowermost portion disposed between a pair of trays or pans 23 alsoformed of metal and pivotally mounted on the end walls 17 of the sweeperbody at the points indicated at 24, in order that they may be swungoutwardly from the body whenever it is required to dump the contentstherefrom.

The sweeper body B is supported forrolling movement by means of twopairs of wheels 25 disposed at opposite ends of the body and havingfrictional engagement at their peripheries with the peripheries of thewheels 20, so that, by a reciprocative movement of the body upon asurface, the brush 19 will be caused torotate alternately in oppositedirections. The wheels 25 of each pair are mounted on the opposite endsof an axle- 26, the latter being of U-form and constructlustrated inFigure 3, the intermediate portion of the shaft 26 is bowed so that itsmedial portion reposes within a groove 28 formed in theconeave portion16a of the corresponding side wall 16. The groove serves the purpose ofmaintaining the shaft in a proper position within the sweeper body inorder that the shaft may function by its inherent resiliencyto'yieldably urge the wheels 25 diagonally downward, and thereby tomaintain the peripheries of the wheels in a proper frictional.

engagement with the wheels 20. By reason of 1ts mounting, the axle 26 iscapable of such a pivotal movement as to allow, when a down-.

ward pressure is exerted upon the-sweeper body through the conventionalhandle 29,

the body to move downwardly in order that the brush 19 may be broughtinto an intimate contact with the surface that is swept. As soon as thesweeper body is relieved of the downward pressure the resiliency of thetwo axles 26 functions to restore the body and thebrush 19 to theirnormal elevated positions.

The brush 19 is also capable of vertical adjustment, independently ofthe downward pressure exerted upon the sweeper body, in

order to render the brush eflicient in its sweeping action of ru 5 orcarpets of various thicknesses and in or er to insure the properrotative movement of the brush, particularly in the sweeping ofrelatively thick rugs or carpets. This vertical adjustment is effectedthrough the medium of the levers 22 which, as shown in. Figure 3, arepivoted upon U-shaped end brackets 30 secured at their ends to the sides16 of the sweeper body. The levers 22 are ivoted at the points indicatedat 31, their ree ends being operative ly connected with each other by aU-shaped yoke 32 arranged so that its end portions extend through theend walls 17 of the sweeper- .body and thus the yoke is rotatabletherein. Secured to one of the levers 22 is a plate 33 provided at oneend with a segmental rack 34 which constantly meshes with a pinion 35fixed to the adjacent stub shaft 21, the latter bein extended so as toprovide a crank 36, whic is disposed exteriorly of the adjacent bracket30 so that its free end can engage within any one of a series ofopenings 37 arranged 'areuately in a plate 38 secured to the adjacentside wall 17 of the sweeper body. By means of this construction, thecrank 36 can be mani ulated so as to rotate the elevate from its lowemost position. This.

movement is transmitted to v the other lever 22 through the connectingyoke 32 in such a manner that both levers move simultaneously, therebyeffecting a vertical adjustment of the rotary brush 19. It will, ofcourse, be understood that any desired adjustment of the brush can bemaintained by inserting the free end of the crank 36 into the properopening 37 thereby latching the crank in the adjusted position.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, a hood 39 is positioned in the sweeper bodydirectly above the brush 19 in order to provide a mounting for a pair ofstripping combs 40 and 41 and in. orderto shield the upper portion ofthebrush against dust, dirt and other debris that is liable to fall uponthe brush. This hood 'isprovided at its ends with a plurality of ears 42by which it is secured in fixed position within the sweeper body. It isof arcuate form in cross section in order to provide clearance for thebrush in either of its rotary movements and in order to cause the dustand dirt. deposited thereon to be dischar ed downwardlyinto either ofthe trays 23. onversely, the hood coacts with the trays in order toprevent sweepings from coming in contact with the brush, should thesweeper be inverted, jarred or tilted.

. The combs 40 and 41 are of the construction shown in Figure 5, andthey are thus provided with angular lips 43 at their upper edges.Through these lips attaching rings 44 extend for hingedly securing thecombs to the longitudinal edges of the hood 39. The

mounting of the combs is such that they are suspended from thelongitudinal edges of the hood so as to occupy diametrically opposedpositions with respect to the axis of the brush,-

and, under the action of gravity, to normally tend to occupy. a combingor stripping POSI- tion, as illustrated by the comb 41 in Figure 2.Either comb is normally prevented from 00-.

cupying this position, however, by reason of the bristles of the brush,but it'jlS normally adapted to be in contact with the brush, and.

the comb therefore assumes the stripping position when the brush isrotated-1n such a direction that its bristles move upwardly of: thecomb. When the bristles are moving downwardly in respect to the comb,they function to swing the comb to a n'onstripping position with respectto the brush, as illus-.

trated by the comb 40in Figure 2. From this operation, it will bemanifest that, according .as the brush is rotated in one direction orthe other, either one comb or the other will automatically assume astripping or'combing action with respect to the bristles of the brush,while the other comb will automatically assume a nonstripping' position.In the strip ping position 0 either comb, it serves tore move fibrousmaterials such as hairs and threads from the brush, as fast as they arecollected by the bristles of the brush. Fibrous no accumulations arethus prevented from forming upon the brush, and the sweeper is therebymaintained at a degree of maximum efficiency. In the non-strippingposition of either comb the downward movement of the bristles along theteeth thereof effects the removal of fibrous accumulations from theteeth of the comb, so that the latter is automatically cleaned while theother comb is cleaning the brush.

An importantffeature in the mounting of the combs is that they utilizethe action of gravity in order to occupy the stripping position, andthat, in their so doing the necessity of providing mechanical means,such as springs, is eliminated.

Although I have herein shown and described only one form of carpetsweeper embodying my invention, it is to be understood that variouschanges and modifications may gravitate to a stripping position in whichits teeth are extended between the bristles thereof so that the bristlestravel lengthwise of the teeth when in contact therewith, while theother comb is moved by the brush to a nonstripping position with respectthereto.

EARLE B. SMITH.

be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention andthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

' I claim as my invention:

1. A carpet sweeper comprising a body, a brush rotatable in the body, ahood secured within the body and disposed directly above the brush, andcombs having angular extensions hingedly mounted on the hood so that thecombs are on opposite sides of the brush and are virtually level withthe axis of the brush, when the carpet sweeper is in its 0p-, erativeposition, and that thereby the combs are free to respond to the actionof gravity.

2. A cleaner for the rotary brushes of carpet sweepers, comprising apair of stripping combs for the brush, and means for mounting the combsfor movement so that one or the other will gravitate to a strippingposition with respect to the brush according as the latter is rotated inone direction or the other, while the other comb is adapted to be movedby the brush to a non-stripping. position in which it is cleaned by thebrush during rotation of the latter, said means comprising a hooddisposed directly above the brush and adapted to shield the brush, andthe combs being pivot-ally mounted on the hood so as to be disposedsubstantially at opposite sides of the brush and virtually level withthe axis of the brush, when the carpet sweeper is in its operativeposition.

3. A carpet sweeper comprising a body, a brush rotatable in the body, ahood secured within the body, disposed directly above the brush andextending partially around opposite sides of the brush, and combsmounted for movement on the hood for stripping engagement with thebrush.

4. A carpet sweeper comprising a body, a brush rotatable in the body, ahood secured within the body, disposed directly above the brush andextended partially around opposite sides ofthe brush, a pair ofstripping combs for the brush, and means for mounting

